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fandomhigh2006-10-02 05:51 pm
the-ascended.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-10-02 05:51 pm
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World History in a Nutshell
Daniel's leaning against the desk as his class files in. You should all be worried about the pile of notes he's going to be working from today.
"Today's lesson is going to cover the Reformation and how religion was a hot point in sixteenth century Europe. I'm afraid a lot of it's going to be me lecturing, but if at any point you don't understand anything, just wave at me and I'll explain as best I can.
"First, however, I'd like to quickly discuss what the difference is between a Catholic and a Protestant. Anyone?"
After that was over, Daniel stood up straight and glanced down at his notes.
"First, we need some background so we're going to look at
"At this time, Germany was split up into smaller parts, each ruled by a sperate leader. The Church also owned one fifth of German land, which meant that it was a secular power as well as a religious one.
In other countries at the time, such as England and France, they were ruled by a monarch which meant that the power of the Church was somewhat diminished. Germany was ruled by the Pope, as head of the Roman Catholic Church. Having a foreigner as the ruler of Germany was not very populat amongst the Germans, as it meant that their taxes were going out of Germany to Italy and the Vatican City.
The Pope was also unpopular in Germany, as he was morally deficient. He did not follow the celibate life he was supposed to lead – he had mistresses and illegitimate children.
Other structural problems of the Church also led to it being unpopular in Germany. One of the main problems was that the archbishops and bishops bought their jobs, which meant that they were unqualified to do the job. It also meant that they had to tax the German people to pay back the debts. They were able to charge ecclesiastical taxes, as well as the 'regular' taxes of a landlord, if the peasant lived on land owned by the Church. Another problem concerning the bishops and archbishops was the problem of pluralism, which contributed to absenteeism. The bishops would take on more than one bishopric – pluralism, but that meant that they were unable to control them all, which led to absenteeism.
The problems within the Church also continued down to the lower clergy – the priests. There was a problem with the priests concerning the fact that many of them were uneducated and illiterate. Like the Pope, they also had problems with morality, or lack thereof. Peasantry also had to pay 10% of their wealth to the Church – a tithe.
More moral deficiencies in the structure of the Church added to the unpopularity. Monks and nuns were meant to live poor, chaste lives in their orders, although many of them didn’t. They also had great social and financial power as landowners, although that also made them unpopular among the peasants.
The Church was also unpopular because many people resented the legal privileges and rights that the members of the Church were entitled to. Clergy did not have to stand trial in a 'normal' court if they broke the law, and this caused much resentment.
Corruption and moral laxness in the Church were also attacked by the Humanists in "In Praise of Folly," showing that it was a major grievance against the Church.
The Humanists also attacked the spiritual decay of the Church. They felt that confessing and repenting sins had taken precedent over Jesus Christ. As they were all university scholars, having declared that "The Vulgate" was incorrect, they went back and translated the Bible again from its original languages of Greek and Hebrew. They believed that the physical actions of repenting were not necessary as long as you were truly sorry in your heart.
However, because the Humanists were all university scholars, at a time when not many people go to university, it means that their ideas and opinions were not a reflection of what the German people thought and believed.
Most German people still supported the Church. Indulgences, pilgrimages and other forms of repentance were all still popular in the beginning of the 16th Century, which showed that they did not have a problem with the spiritual side of the Church. Only small groups had a problem with that side.
"You all still with me? Any questions?
"Okay. Martin Luther. Luther was a German theologist and monk who wrote The Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, or as it is more commonly known, the 95 Theses and posted it on the cathedral door in Wittenburg in 1517 in response to Johann Tetzel's selling of indulgences. This was to provide a catalyst for a theological debate and led to the Reformation.
"A lot of Catholic Germans understood and agreed with what Luther was saying in the Ninety-five Theses, which was published in 151F. They agreed with the complaints about financial abuses and foreign interference in Germany.
However, although they understood what Luther was saying, those high up in the Church did not agree with what Luther was saying. Such as Albert of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Mainz. It was under his authority which Johann Tetzel was selling hisindulgences. Albert feared that it would affect the money he gained from the indulgences, as he was using the money to pay off the debts he had incurred by buying his latest archbishopric. Therefore, Albert immediately sent to the Pope for support.
Pope Leo X decided that Luther should be dealt with through the structure of the Augustinian order of monks to which he belonged. He attempted to justify his actions in the triennial convention of his order in April 1518. Because he was generally supported, Pope Leo ordered Luther to come to Rome so that Leo could deal with him directly. Luther refused. So Cardinal Cajetan was sent to Germany to meet with Luther.
Cajetan’s response to Luther was to threaten him with papal authority in an attempt to make him retract what he had written in the Ninety-Five Theses. He met with Luther in Ausburg in October 1518, and tried to convince him to retract his paper, first by reasoning with him, and then by threatening Luther. However, Luther still refused, saying that he would only retract his theses if he was shown in the Bible that he was in error.
It was nearly a year later before the Church once again attempted to quell Luther and his views on religion. This took place in July 1519, in the form of a debate between Luther and Johann Eck, who was another theologian and a staunch defender of Catholicism, in the city of Leipzig. Eck’s response to Luther was to try to admit that he was a Heretic, and also to make him look like an idiot. During the debate with Eck, Luther admitted that he was a Hussite (A follow of a previous 'heretic,' who had been burned at the stake a century earlier). Luther was not only denying the Pope’s authority in purgatory, but also on Earth.
After the Leipzig Disputation, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Church, by sending him a legal bull "Exsurge Domine." This was publicly issued in June 1520. However, Luther showed his scorn for the Pope by burning it.
However, Luther wasn’t completely alone. He was supported by Frederick "the Wise," the Elector of Saxony. At first, it appeared that Frederick supported Luther for political reasons. Luther was attacking Tetzel, which was in effect, an attack on Albert of Brandenburg. Because the rivalry between Albert and Frederick was so great, it seemed logical that Frederick would protect one of his citizens who was attacking his enemy. Frederick also shared the sentiments of the German people, who hated the Pope as a grasping foreigner. But Frederick also supported Luther because even though he was not a convent to the new religious beliefs, he was not prepared to stop it, or allows others to stop it until the rightness or wrongness of Luther’s claims had been fairly decided. He looked at Luther’s ideas with an open mind. Because of his support, it meant that Luther was able to survive past 1521.
The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V allowed Luther to attend the Diet of Worms in April 1521. However, his reaction to Luther was not positive, as Luther once again admitted to being a heretic. He passed the Edict of Worms, which confirmed the terms of the bull of excommunication, and made it legal."
At this point, Daniel paused to take a drink of water. "Okay, so now you've got the basics of the Reformation there. On your desks, there's some information on the French Wars of Religion. Now, the French protestants were Hugenots instead of Lutherans, but the basic principle is the same. I'd like for you to read through and decide whether or not they deserve to be called Wars of Religion, or was it mostly a political power struggle between the House of Guise and the House of Bourbon"? Once you've finished that, then we're moving on to the Dutch Revolt.
Some people think that it is a mistake to see the Dutch Revolt as a War of Religion.
"Okay, so it's been a bit of an information overload today, so I'm going to be setting your midterm next week instead," said Daniel, smiling as he reached for his water again. "Before I let you go, does anyone have any more questions?"
"Have a good night everyone."
"Today's lesson is going to cover the Reformation and how religion was a hot point in sixteenth century Europe. I'm afraid a lot of it's going to be me lecturing, but if at any point you don't understand anything, just wave at me and I'll explain as best I can.
"First, however, I'd like to quickly discuss what the difference is between a Catholic and a Protestant. Anyone?"
After that was over, Daniel stood up straight and glanced down at his notes.
"First, we need some background so we're going to look at
"At this time, Germany was split up into smaller parts, each ruled by a sperate leader. The Church also owned one fifth of German land, which meant that it was a secular power as well as a religious one.
In other countries at the time, such as England and France, they were ruled by a monarch which meant that the power of the Church was somewhat diminished. Germany was ruled by the Pope, as head of the Roman Catholic Church. Having a foreigner as the ruler of Germany was not very populat amongst the Germans, as it meant that their taxes were going out of Germany to Italy and the Vatican City.
The Pope was also unpopular in Germany, as he was morally deficient. He did not follow the celibate life he was supposed to lead – he had mistresses and illegitimate children.
Other structural problems of the Church also led to it being unpopular in Germany. One of the main problems was that the archbishops and bishops bought their jobs, which meant that they were unqualified to do the job. It also meant that they had to tax the German people to pay back the debts. They were able to charge ecclesiastical taxes, as well as the 'regular' taxes of a landlord, if the peasant lived on land owned by the Church. Another problem concerning the bishops and archbishops was the problem of pluralism, which contributed to absenteeism. The bishops would take on more than one bishopric – pluralism, but that meant that they were unable to control them all, which led to absenteeism.
The problems within the Church also continued down to the lower clergy – the priests. There was a problem with the priests concerning the fact that many of them were uneducated and illiterate. Like the Pope, they also had problems with morality, or lack thereof. Peasantry also had to pay 10% of their wealth to the Church – a tithe.
More moral deficiencies in the structure of the Church added to the unpopularity. Monks and nuns were meant to live poor, chaste lives in their orders, although many of them didn’t. They also had great social and financial power as landowners, although that also made them unpopular among the peasants.
The Church was also unpopular because many people resented the legal privileges and rights that the members of the Church were entitled to. Clergy did not have to stand trial in a 'normal' court if they broke the law, and this caused much resentment.
Corruption and moral laxness in the Church were also attacked by the Humanists in "In Praise of Folly," showing that it was a major grievance against the Church.
The Humanists also attacked the spiritual decay of the Church. They felt that confessing and repenting sins had taken precedent over Jesus Christ. As they were all university scholars, having declared that "The Vulgate" was incorrect, they went back and translated the Bible again from its original languages of Greek and Hebrew. They believed that the physical actions of repenting were not necessary as long as you were truly sorry in your heart.
However, because the Humanists were all university scholars, at a time when not many people go to university, it means that their ideas and opinions were not a reflection of what the German people thought and believed.
Most German people still supported the Church. Indulgences, pilgrimages and other forms of repentance were all still popular in the beginning of the 16th Century, which showed that they did not have a problem with the spiritual side of the Church. Only small groups had a problem with that side.
"You all still with me? Any questions?
"Okay. Martin Luther. Luther was a German theologist and monk who wrote The Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, or as it is more commonly known, the 95 Theses and posted it on the cathedral door in Wittenburg in 1517 in response to Johann Tetzel's selling of indulgences. This was to provide a catalyst for a theological debate and led to the Reformation.
"A lot of Catholic Germans understood and agreed with what Luther was saying in the Ninety-five Theses, which was published in 151F. They agreed with the complaints about financial abuses and foreign interference in Germany.
However, although they understood what Luther was saying, those high up in the Church did not agree with what Luther was saying. Such as Albert of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Mainz. It was under his authority which Johann Tetzel was selling hisindulgences. Albert feared that it would affect the money he gained from the indulgences, as he was using the money to pay off the debts he had incurred by buying his latest archbishopric. Therefore, Albert immediately sent to the Pope for support.
Pope Leo X decided that Luther should be dealt with through the structure of the Augustinian order of monks to which he belonged. He attempted to justify his actions in the triennial convention of his order in April 1518. Because he was generally supported, Pope Leo ordered Luther to come to Rome so that Leo could deal with him directly. Luther refused. So Cardinal Cajetan was sent to Germany to meet with Luther.
Cajetan’s response to Luther was to threaten him with papal authority in an attempt to make him retract what he had written in the Ninety-Five Theses. He met with Luther in Ausburg in October 1518, and tried to convince him to retract his paper, first by reasoning with him, and then by threatening Luther. However, Luther still refused, saying that he would only retract his theses if he was shown in the Bible that he was in error.
It was nearly a year later before the Church once again attempted to quell Luther and his views on religion. This took place in July 1519, in the form of a debate between Luther and Johann Eck, who was another theologian and a staunch defender of Catholicism, in the city of Leipzig. Eck’s response to Luther was to try to admit that he was a Heretic, and also to make him look like an idiot. During the debate with Eck, Luther admitted that he was a Hussite (A follow of a previous 'heretic,' who had been burned at the stake a century earlier). Luther was not only denying the Pope’s authority in purgatory, but also on Earth.
After the Leipzig Disputation, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Church, by sending him a legal bull "Exsurge Domine." This was publicly issued in June 1520. However, Luther showed his scorn for the Pope by burning it.
However, Luther wasn’t completely alone. He was supported by Frederick "the Wise," the Elector of Saxony. At first, it appeared that Frederick supported Luther for political reasons. Luther was attacking Tetzel, which was in effect, an attack on Albert of Brandenburg. Because the rivalry between Albert and Frederick was so great, it seemed logical that Frederick would protect one of his citizens who was attacking his enemy. Frederick also shared the sentiments of the German people, who hated the Pope as a grasping foreigner. But Frederick also supported Luther because even though he was not a convent to the new religious beliefs, he was not prepared to stop it, or allows others to stop it until the rightness or wrongness of Luther’s claims had been fairly decided. He looked at Luther’s ideas with an open mind. Because of his support, it meant that Luther was able to survive past 1521.
The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V allowed Luther to attend the Diet of Worms in April 1521. However, his reaction to Luther was not positive, as Luther once again admitted to being a heretic. He passed the Edict of Worms, which confirmed the terms of the bull of excommunication, and made it legal."
At this point, Daniel paused to take a drink of water. "Okay, so now you've got the basics of the Reformation there. On your desks, there's some information on the French Wars of Religion. Now, the French protestants were Hugenots instead of Lutherans, but the basic principle is the same. I'd like for you to read through and decide whether or not they deserve to be called Wars of Religion, or was it mostly a political power struggle between the House of Guise and the House of Bourbon"? Once you've finished that, then we're moving on to the Dutch Revolt.
Some people think that it is a mistake to see the Dutch Revolt as a War of Religion.
"Okay, so it's been a bit of an information overload today, so I'm going to be setting your midterm next week instead," said Daniel, smiling as he reached for his water again. "Before I let you go, does anyone have any more questions?"
"Have a good night everyone."
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